Unlike many of the more vocal fans of The Dresden Files book series would have you believe, this was not bad. The closest thing to bad was a the child actor, but even then, he did alright for a kid, so I won't hold it against him. But then again, that's pretty much exactly what I have to say about the whole thing. It's by no means bad, but it isn't very entertaining either. It's your standard crime drama, except this time they've eschewed all the technobabble and flat-out admitted that the hero uses magic to solve crimes. But that's about it. When I read The Dresden Files, I may be sad, excited, happy, surprised, or angry, but one thing I can never say about any of the books I've read is that they bored me. This episode did. Things are happening, but quite frankly, I just don't care. Harry's a generic crime drama lead, Murphy's a generic crime drama cop, Bob is a generic sidekick, everything just screams generic. That is one criticism that will never, ever, be used on the books (except maybe the first two, but if you can find a way to apply that to Dead Beat, my condolences to you). Nobody did anything wrong here, but nobody really grabbed my attention either. I just sat bored until it ended. And then a good time later I tried it again: I was still bored, and I turned it off. I tried again, with the same result. I just can't get into it. It didn't ruin anything Jim Butcher did, but it never really had his spark to it either. If you liked it, good, I'm glad you did. But it didn't do anything for me, so I don't think I'll be revisiting this. I'll stick to the books, where I can get my Pizza Lords and Zombie T-Rexes just the way I like them: with a sharp wit, a big heart, and a whole lot of fun.
The Pilot: So Okay, It's Average
Unlike many of the more vocal fans of The Dresden Files book series would have you believe, this was not bad. The closest thing to bad was a the child actor, but even then, he did alright for a kid, so I won't hold it against him. But then again, that's pretty much exactly what I have to say about the whole thing. It's by no means bad, but it isn't very entertaining either. It's your standard crime drama, except this time they've eschewed all the technobabble and flat-out admitted that the hero uses magic to solve crimes. But that's about it. When I read The Dresden Files, I may be sad, excited, happy, surprised, or angry, but one thing I can never say about any of the books I've read is that they bored me. This episode did. Things are happening, but quite frankly, I just don't care. Harry's a generic crime drama lead, Murphy's a generic crime drama cop, Bob is a generic sidekick, everything just screams generic. That is one criticism that will never, ever, be used on the books (except maybe the first two, but if you can find a way to apply that to Dead Beat, my condolences to you). Nobody did anything wrong here, but nobody really grabbed my attention either. I just sat bored until it ended. And then a good time later I tried it again: I was still bored, and I turned it off. I tried again, with the same result. I just can't get into it. It didn't ruin anything Jim Butcher did, but it never really had his spark to it either. If you liked it, good, I'm glad you did. But it didn't do anything for me, so I don't think I'll be revisiting this. I'll stick to the books, where I can get my Pizza Lords and Zombie T-Rexes just the way I like them: with a sharp wit, a big heart, and a whole lot of fun.